We are so excited to introduce these Hand Painted Safety Eyes in Colors Inspired by the Stars, Nebula, Galaxies, and the Imaginary Belt of Heaven. Zodiac Birth Signs are now available for Birthday Crafts and Fantasy Art. Use in Sewing, Crochet, Amigurumi, Needle Felting, and More. Use for Teddy Bears, Dolls, Plush Animals, Fantasy Arts, and Birthday Crafts Use for Hand Crafted Birthday Gifts, Dragons, Dinosaurs, Kitty Cats, Plush Animals, Fantasy Creatures, Monsters, Arts & Crafts.
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Paul shares how starting a blog about restoring Dinosaur sculptures evolved into working with the local library, school, and museum to encourage an "appreciation of arts and education through the inspiration of Dinosaurs" I first met and wrote about Paul Heinzman, the creator of Paul's Prehistoric Park in the GlassEyesOnLine March 2016 Newsletter. At our first meeting by telephone back then; he had just started his blog about restoring and preserving metal dinosaur sculptures. I checked in recently and found that Paul is still blogging at PaulsPrehistoricPark.com It's a fabulous read for adults and kids and such a fun way to learn about the arts and sciences. Check out his blog about Hollywood Dinosaurs just posted in April 2022 and meet Delores del Rio Dilophosaurus, the newest member of the park. You can learn more about the history of Dinosaurs in the movies. I met up with Paul recently on zoom and he shared where the blog has led him to on his creative journey. He was working on a blog post about taking his dinosaur to the library to check out books to read and obtained permission from the local librarian to bring in one of his Prehistoric Pals to create photos for the article. He was invited to come back weekly to read books about dinosaurs to kids and their families. During the pandemic Paul has used zoom meetings for elementary school readings and drawing dinosaur classes. His Prehistoric Pals always join in on the fun. Get the details at Events 2021 Paul sent me the photo above of the California State Dinosaur, Angie the Augustynolophus. The Augustynolophus is California's Official State Dinosaur. Angie joined Paul's Prehistoric Park in August of 2017. Paul and Angie were invited to participate with his Dinosaur Pals in Dino Fest weekend at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles County. He gave families an opportunity to paint Angie shown in the photo above using sponges that he cut in the shape of dinosaurs and water based paint. You can see photos of the kids at the museum painting Angie HERE I learned from Paul that the Mammuthus Columbi is the South Carolina State Fossil... and not a Dinosaur as I originally thought. They are ice age mammals. According to Paul, Dinosaurs evolved from Reptiles and except for those that evolved into birds died out 65 million years ago. Columbian Mammoths appeared on the Planet 1.5 million years ago. They went extinct about 11,500 years ago. Fossilized teeth and bones of Mammoths have been located in various parts of South Carolina. We adopted a Dilophosaurus at GlassEyesOnLine a few years ago. His name is Dexter and he was crocheted by Charlyn Smith of Critter-ific Crochet. He has 18mm Clear Slit Pupil Safety Eyes that were hand painted by her friend. Dexter likes to collect safety eyes and hides them in the yard. He spends a couple of hours a day overseeing Jerry while he paints eyes. Dexter is hoping to meet up with Delores del Rio at Paul's Prehistoric Park in the future! If you are interested in the Dilophosaurus crochet pattern by Charlyn Smith; it is available HERE Are you interested learning to draw dinosaurs or dragons? Invitations will be coming soon to sign up for a Zoom Meet Up with Paul to "Learn How to Draw a Dinosaur or Dragon" hosted by GlassEyesOnLine. Be on the look out for Invitations to sign up !
Jerry and I recently had the pleasure of meeting James Sizemore on Zoom. James is the man behind Wonder Goblin Toys and Vinyl Wonder Toy Paint. He has used some Plastic Safety Eyes from GlassEyesOnLine in certain monsters he designs. We discovered his unique toys on Instagram and his website and he agreed to discuss how he creates his toys and the paints he uses in the process. James creates Sofubi toys. We weren't familiar with Sofubi so we did a little research and learned that Sofubi (ソフビ) is soft vinyl production started in the 1950s that became a popular method of toy production in Japan, ranging from Kewpie dolls to robots. Our friend, David grew up in Japan in the late 50's and early 60's. He did not recognize the term Sofubi; but when we showed him photos of some of the toys made in that time period he immediately recalled playing with and collecting them as a young boy. He reminisced with us about playing with his favorite toy "Godzilla". More photos of Sofubi Toys from this time period are included in Don "datadub" Kratzer's What is Sofubi ? Presentation Sofubi production was expected to die off when China became the main plastic manufacturer in the 1990s. What saved Sofubi according to toy experts was the rise of what is known as "Otaku" Culture. In the 1970s and 1980s there was a rapid growth of both the manga and anime art forms—manga referring to Japanese comics, and anime to the animated characters. These industries inspired clubs, gatherings, and massive fan conventions. These fans started addressing each other as "Otaku", an honorific form of “you,” to convey their shared passion for anime and manga. Sofubi Toys are highly collectible and still in production. You will probably find them for sale when you attend a Comicon or Designercon Event. James designs, sculpts, and prototypes his monster toys by hand. He then ships the wax prototypes to sofubi artisans in Japan where the metal molds are made. The artisans cast the figures in soft vinyl and ship the pieces back so that James can paint and assemble them. The Vinyl Wonder Toy Paint Company was born while James was developing paints that contain more pigment and stronger chemical bonds for his vinyl figures. His specially formulated paints are now available for vinyl toy designers, custom painters, mixed media artists, or sofubi hobbyists, looking for a high quality artist-grade paint that properly bonds to vinyl. James has begun posting Vinyl Painting How to Videos on his Vinyl Wonder Youtube Channel To learn more about the equipment needed and process James uses to paint his Sofubi toys you won't want to miss this youtube video Build Your Own Paint Studio. James and his father recorded their step by step process of creating his paint studio out of an old shipping container and recycled materials that is a must see! During our zoom call, John gave us a virtual tour of his personal collection of toys created by some famous artists. Below are photos of a small sample of his prolific collection. Just in time for Halloween, James has Pocket Pals "Candy Corn Edition" to start or add to your toy collection. Follow wondergoblin on Instagram and sign up for his newsletter to get notices of "DROP DATES" and lotteries for his Wonder Goblin Toys. They sell out quickly. Want to learn more about Sofubi? Check out the Links Below.
Sofubi 101: https://sofubiki.com/en/sofubi-101/intro What is Sofubi: https://www.pechakucha.com/presentations/what-is-sofubi Medicom Toy: https://captivated.com/collections/medicom-toy GlassEyesOnLine sells eyes that are used in many different types of mediums including fishing lures. We have met some of our customers that create fish lures over the past few years including Captain Jody Gay, Rusty Jessee, and Musky Dan. We've learned so much from our meetings with them about the art & craft of lure design. Jerry has a small collection and we also have a Pinterest Board for fishing lures some of which have been made or collected by our customers. Paul Smith from Pizz Swimbaits creates fishing lures in his garage in California. Jerry has worked with Paul over the years as he tested various styles of eye in his swimbaits. I recently listened to an interview with Paul on the Cast & Crank Fishing Podcast Episode 127 recorded in July 2020. I talked with him on the phone about Pizz Swimbaits and his purchase of Slaunch Mob. Paul transitioned from painting Murals into creating and painting fish swimbaits in his garage around 2008. His story involves alot of thinking outside the box and stretching yourself creatively. His experiences being a creator and entrepeneur can be useful for artists and crafters working with any medium. I was so impressed with the methods he used to grow and develop his brand thus far. He talked about working with a make up artist in the movie industry and a tatoo artist to incorporate some of their trade skills into his fish lure design, builds, and paint jobs. Paul ventured into the purchase of the Slaunch Mob company and put his fishing and tackle craft spin on the apparel that is popular with punk and heavy metal music lovers. Slaunch Mob enabled him to cross market to a younger fishing enthusiast. I had to laugh at some of Paul's pun on words in the clothing labels that he incorporated into the graphics he designed like " Dream Catcher". So Creative! because my fishing friends are always talking about their latest catches when we get together. Paul is also a fishing enthusiast. He realizes that Fish Lures are an investment and get exposed to some pretty harsh salt and fresh water environments around the world. That is why he tests all the materials he uses as well as his finished swimbaits. His goal is to assure his swimbaits are durable and re-usable. I would add that his magnificent paint jobs make them collectible. For Paul, "It's a learning process. You find out what works and what doesn't as you go along testing different paints and eyes". Paul talked about how much pleasure he gets from seeing a fisher use his swimbaits and catch fish. Some of these videos and photos have been shared @pizzswimbaits on Instagram and Piz Swimbaits Youtube Channel. Paul will be at The Gathering 2021, Saturday, Oct 9 on Chickahominy Lake at Rockahock Campground, 1428 Outpost Rd. Lanexa, VA. There are plans for fishing on the lake, on the water fishing demonstrations, and drawings for fishing gear and swimbaits. If you are into fishing; he'd love for you to stop by his booth and say Hi. Fishing Enthusiasts interested in attending can learn more details about The Gathering 3 at Swimbait Universe If you want to purchase a Pizz Swimbait; you'll need to check the Bait Drop frequently as they sell out as fast as Paul makes and posts them. He posts notices about Bait Drops on @pizzswimbaits on Instagram. Paul's story is my reminder to keep my eyes and mind open for opportunities to stretch myself creatively with all mediums I encounter and be open to opportunities to learn. Nick Lyons, an author, educator and fly fishing enthusiast wrote "In the best stories about fly fishing… big fish are caught or lost; people say wild and spontaneous words; event becomes memory and sometimes, in the hands of a master, bleeds into art."Jerry has been a fan of Laurie Kay's work in the community and has donated eyes to some of her service projects. We reached out to Laurie when Jerry was developing the Aloha Summer Series of hand painted safety eyes and asked her to collaborate with us on a project packed with Tropical Summer Theme Fun and the Aloha Summer Series Eyes from GlassEyesOnLine. We just received monsters that Laurie made using her new monster sewing kits. View our reveal in the video below. Laurie is the founder of Monsters Made with Love; sewing with a self-love twist. Creating perfectly imperfect fleece monsters that represent what you love about yourself, and even embrace insecurities. Laurie offers workshops with create your own monster kits for kids, people with special needs, mental health and cancer patients. Laurie also works with corporations to bring employees together in an out-of-the-box way, helping people wiggle out of their comfort zone, showing a different side of themselves and feeling a sense of accomplishment. The Monsters Made with Love Philosophy:-There is no mistake we can’t fix or move on from. -You need to make a monster for yourself before you make one to give...you’ve gotta love yourself before you can love anyone else. -Embrace those imperfections, because they make us who we are. I watched Laurie's Video interview detailing the beginning of her idea of Monsters Made With Love and how it has developed and is engaging with her community. If you want to know more about Monsters Made With Love ~ click HERE Laurie also shared some details about the work she is doing in the community with The Maker City, in Knoxville, Tennessee. We learned about Maker Meet In monthly virtual gatherings and workshops being offered free for artists and crafters. The workshops are also recorded for future viewing. Aloha Summer Series Eyes are Available at GlassEyesOnLine.com Monster Sewing Kits Available at Monsters Made With Love You can Reach Out to Laurie Kay to arrange a workshop for your community or company. We get lots of questions at GlassEyesOnLine about how to measure for doll eyes. In the listing description for Oval Plastic Doll Eyes, we provide detailed dimensions including the Iris (color part of the eye) diameter and Overall Oval Size in width and height. Dimensions of Plastic Oval Doll Eyes IRIS 5mm (approx. 3/16 inch or 0.197 inch) Diameter OVAL Dimension (7mm by 9mm) IRIS 6mm (approx. 1/4 inch or 0.236 inch) Diameter OVAL Dimension (8mm by 12mm) IRIS 7mm (approx. 5/16 inch or 0.276 inch) Diameter OVAL Dimension (9mm by 13mm) IRIS 8mm (approx.5/16 inch or 0.315 inch) Diameter Oval Dimension (10mm by 15mm) IRIS 9mm (approx. 3/8 inch or 0.354 inch) Diameter OVAL Dimension (12mm by 17mm) IRIS 10mm (approx. 3/8 inch or 0.394 inch) Diameter OVAL Dimension (15mm by 19mm) IRIS 12mm (approx. 1/2 inch or 0.472 inch) Diameter OVAL Dimension (16mm by 24mm) IRIS 14mm (approx. 9/16 inch or 0.551 inch) Diameter OVAL Dimension (18mm by 27mm) If you are not familiar with millimeters; you will find the millimeter to inch Conversion Chart located on GlassEyesOnLine Home Page helpful. Recently Jerry created a youtube video that explains how to use a Micrometer or Caliper to measure the opening for an eye in a doll head. We hope you find this information helpful ! |
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